Cartomancy is known as the art of card divination. It is commonly believed that it originated in late 14th century Italy. Although there are many unconfirmed myths claiming it to be significantly older.
Did you know that there are several different types of card divination?
Tarot
Tarot is a divinatory practice that follows a certain structure. A tarot deck usually consists of 78 cards. 22 of these are trump cards known as the major arcana, starting with Key 0: The Fool and ending with Key 21: The World. The major arcana speaks of the major life occurrences through life.
The remaining 36 cards are known as the minor arcana. The minor arcana further consists of four suits: Wands, pentacles, swords and cups. Each suit is numbered 1 through 10 and has 4 additional court cards. The minor arcana speaks of everyday occurrences through life.
No tarot card is purely evil or purely good. Each card has quite a few meanings, which evolves according to the situation they appear in and the interpretations of the reader. This contributes to making Tarot not only a divinatory practice but a psychological one as well. Artistic renderings of the images can also give slightly different nuances to a card. Tarot is also quite flexible when it comes to the amount of cards you use in a reading. You can use as few or as many as you feel is right to the situation. You can even use only one card like an oracle deck.
Oracle cards
Oracle card decks do not have a specific structure. The number of cards differs from deck to deck. The images differ from deck to deck too. Some decks have short texts on them, others only have a title. The cards themselves are also often not numbered. Oracles are often very user-friendly decks. They are a good introduction for people interested in divination. I am by no means saying that Oracle cards are only beginner cards, though. They are simply quicker to learn how to use initially. Oracle decks can also be versatile. They can easily be used together in other divinatory practices( Example: together with Tarot or runes).
Oracle cards are most often read as one card at the time. These oracles decks are commonly used in situations such as daily card draws or clarifier card. Although they can be used in larger spreads. It’s worth to make a note that oracle decks usually are very positively loaded decks. Both images and the messages are often quite gentle.
Lenormand
A Lenormand deck consists of 36 cards. These cards have simple imagery, such as a heart, a dog or a man. Each of these cards is numbered one through 36. Each card holds specific meanings and does not change from deck to deck. Further, the cards are labeled positive, negative or neutral.
Lenormand differs quite from Tarot and oracle decks in the way you read the cards. As opposed to Tarot and oracle cards, Lenormand cards should be read with two or more cards. Multiple cards work together as a unified concept as opposed to a single stand alone card. Lenormand is less open to personal interpretation than tarot. The cards have more clear and direct messages, almost like reading a book.
Do you know of any other types of card divination? I would be happy to hear about it!
Sincerely Hermit of the North
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